Catacombs of Rome

One of the most interesting sites to visit in Rome are The Catacombs. The catacombs are located primarily outside the city walls of the city. Roman law at the time – 2nd century AD – prevented burial inside the city walls. In the Pagan religion, death was celebrated by cremation. The early Christian rejected this philosophy. Read more…

The catacombs of St. Callixtus are among the greatest and most important of Rome. They originated about the middle of the second century and are part of a cemetery complex which occupies an area of 90 acres, with a network of galleries about 12 miles long, in four levels, more than twenty meters deep. In it were buried tens of martyrs, 16 popes and very many Christians… Read more…

The Catacombs of St. Sebastian were among the first Christian tombs to be built. The church here is one of the seven pilgrimage churches of Rome and is named for St. Sebastian, who is buried here. These catacombs are four levels deep with more than six miles of corridors. They have fascinating early paintings, graffiti, stucco work and mosaics. Read more…

The Catacombs of Domitilla are among the best preserved, most extensive, and oldest in Rome.They contain the only underground Basilica you’ll see in Rome, more than ten miles of corridors and almost 150,000 burial spots. The land was donated to the Christians by the noble Flavia Domitilla, granddaughter of the emperor Vespasian – the emperor who built the Colosseo! One of the highlights is a second century fresco of the Last Supper. Read more…

The Catacombs of St. Agnes held the remains of the famous and very young Roman martyr Agnes. Her family probably already owned the hypogeum. The legend is that Agnes endured tremendous torments at the age of twelve. She refused to marry a Roman nobleman and was sentenced to death. Because Roman law did not permit the execution of a virgin, she was dragged through the streets naked and taken to a brothel. As she prayed, Read more…

The Catacombs of Priscilla were probably founded by the noblewoman Priscilla who donated the land on which it was built. There are many martyrs and Popes buried here What separate the Catacombs of Priscilla from others are the incredible frescoes painted throughout the corridors and tombs. This catacomb claims to have the oldest known image of the Madonna, from the 3rd century. Read more…